Couple of Birds and a Frog

I had a productive lunch break today. Shot these at a nearby park.

Paul, you did say keep 'em coming. Right?

Ok what kind of setup are you using here Loupey , Great Captures :)

Still the same rig. The 70-200 with the 2x tele-converter. Lately, I've been keeping both the camera bag and the tripod in the truck and just walking around with only this setup in hand.

If I know I'll be shooting close-ups, I'll carry my handy-dandy extension tubes in a small bag.

I know I would get better results with a dedicated macro lens and super-telephoto. But I'm really trying to push the limits of the Canon 70-200 f/2.8L IS. I'm still convinced that I can make this lens a Swiss army knife of lenses by carrying around tubes and a tele-converter. Plus, I have an edge since Canon doesn't make a macro lens with the IS.

BTW, the frog shot was made on all fours (if you count elbows as twos) at around 400mm with the TC. I know I couldn't have made that shot if the lens didn't have IS and I had to use a tripod. This IS technology has changed my world!

Another point about TC's and tubes. I can use both of these in combination and depending on which is in front, I have completely different rigs. Either a 400mm super telephoto with close focusing ability; or a 200mm close focusing telephoto with 2x the macro image magnification!

Since the tubes come in a set of 3 rings, that's a whole lot of combinations in a very small, portable package!

I've read about most people's negative reviews of the 2x (especially in comparison to the 1.4x) and of Canon's hit-or-miss quality issues. So, believe me, when I bought all this gear last year, I tested the heck out of them before my 7 day trial period was over.

You decide if the 2x TC was worth it. Below is a section of the same frog frame. Yeah, I previously sharpened it with CS2. But the detail is still in there.

Shot specs: 400mm, 1/250s, f/11, ISO 200, Canon 10D (handheld!)

Yes I did say that, but I was not serious ;) hahaha

These images are good. I am sorry, but that RW blackbird image can't be close to full frame. If it is, I need lessons from you ;) I really like that green frog(or was it a bullfrog?) image!

I honestly think the only better lens to have for telephoto/macro would be a 300FIS, 1.4 TC and tubes. A 2x for manual focus macro would be KILLER too!

TC and Tubes Humm ,im gonna have to look into those :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by paulnj

These images are good. I am sorry, but that RW blackbird image can't be close to full frame. If it is, I need lessons from you ;)

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Paul, you caught me. The unaltered (except for JPeg conversion and resizing) RAW frame is here. The other images are the more standard 85% to 95% of full frame.

The frog? It was a frog and it was green. Other than that? It wasn't very large so I don't think it was a bull frog unless the males are quite a bit smaller than females.

Yeah, that 300mm is so mouth-watering. I actually had one for about a month and loved the results with it. But that 2nd generation IS made a crazy "clunk" sound everytime it activated so I returned it. Found out here on PR later that that sound is normal in that lens.

A few more...

Sorry, I know they're "just ducks". But I like how these came out.

Well, then it's a green frog. Bullfrogs are quite large usually , since they are tadpoles for 2 years before turning into a frog. I know frog calls too, but not as well as birds, and that's how I find my frogs.

You did very well getting even that close to a RW blackbird. They are tough to get close too usually.

BTW... A deer is just a deer, a bike is just a bike, an eagle is just an eagle and a fox is just a fox ;) Common subjects actually sell better than rarer ones usually. Cardinal is a huge seller, but I see them all the time.

That frog is awesome, especially the crop. Now I gotta go get a TC. :)

Thanks, Payn. I got another one this morning (below) with the same setup.

Paul, the RWB's must be getting used to me. This one below is full width (a little off the top and bottom tho)

Not bad, were you on foot? Shooting from a vehicle will get you closer than on foot alot of times.

Paul, on foot. I noticed that the two males tend to perch on the tops of two trees. I've found that if I wait long enough under a neighboring tree, he will come back long enough for me to pop out and get him.

And when they leave, they tend to flee to the opposite side of the pond. Sitting there waiting for them to come back, twice they flew low and right at me before veering up to their perch. Next, I'm gonna try to capture them mid flight as their red patch really stands out in flight.